Job 5:5whose harvest the hungry eats up, and take it even out of the thorns. The snare gapes for their substance.
The setting
Ancient agricultural society, ~2000 BC. Eliphaz describes the complete economic collapse of the wicked - even their thorny, difficult-to-harvest grain gets taken by desperate hungry people...
The emotion here: warning with the gravity of someone who has seen families destroyed
The original word
tsinnîm (צִנִּים) — thorns, representing the most protected and difficult crops to steal
Why it matters
Ancient farmers would plant grain among thorns as protection from thieves
Read with care
What most readers miss in Job 5:5
Even the grain that grew in impossible-to-reach thorny places gets taken - total economic devastation
Common misconceptionPeople think this guarantees that all wealthy people will lose everything, but Eliphaz is specifically describing the fate of 'the foolish' who build without wisdom or integrity.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Job 5:5
Bible Genome reading
Job 5:5 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Job 5:5 comes from the book of Job, written during the Patriarchal period. These words are attributed to Eliphaz. The dominant emotion in this verse is grieving, with a comfort power of 20% and a tone that is reflective. It belongs to the poetry genre of biblical literature. Key themes include loss, consequences. Notable phrases: hungry eats up; snare gapes.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same grieving
“By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you…”
— Genesis 3:19
“Jesus wept.”
— John 11:35
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?”
— Psalms 22:1
“They divide my garments among them. They cast lots for my clothing.”
— Psalms 22:18
“for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;”
— Romans 3:23
Your reflection
What does Job 5:5 mean to you, today?
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